Lot no. 446
446. [Apollo 17] RONALD EVANS ON HUMANITY'S FINAL DEEP SPACE SPACEWALK: farthest from any planetary body (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report)
Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS17-152-23357].
Original editorial labels in the white margins on the recto for publication in NASA's Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), with "A Kodak Paper" watermark and traces of previous mounting on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS17-152-23357" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas), together with an original NASA sheet indicating directives and notes (figure 4-60) for publication in the report.
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
Humanity's last deep-space EVA and final EVA of the Apollo program was performed by Ronald Evans at the greatest distance from any planetary body—adrift in the cold, infinite void.
This stunning photograph was captured by Harrison Schmitt from the open hatch of the Command Module America. At the time, the spacecraft was approximately 180,000 miles from Earth, en route home from the Moon.
"You're not really a spaceman when you're in the confines of your spaceship. You go outside, and you're hanging on, manoeuvring out there from the safety and security of our mother ship. If you ever want to be a spaceman, that's the way to do it!"
Ron Evans (Chaikin, Voices, p. 122).
FIGURE 4-60. — The CMP is pictured during his TEC EVA, retrieving film canisters from the mapping and panoramic cameras in the SIM bay of the Service Module (SM). He is holding a handrail on the SM, with his body extended over the open SIM bay. The mapping camera film canister is near his left elbow. At the rear of the SM, the Lunar Sounder Experiment VHF antenna extends toward the top right corner of the photograph (AS17-152-23391).
Literature
Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), p. 4-60
Pictures credits: Contact organization
Photographs and film
About the sale04/28/2025
Catalog
FOR ALL MANKIND THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
75008 Paris - France